White ears twitched happily as Askan offered up some words that were not crude or gruff, but rather quite interesting. It meant his pack was fairly new, possibly with not many members, which would explain the older male's brusque behaviour. That could just be the way he acted, but Niki found he did not mind the other as much as he had originally. Maybe with time if he chose to join Askan's pack they could be more than just acquaintances as he concluded that a friend was most likely not on the others list. A far cry from himself who would be happy being friends with everyone, but he could not afford to pick and choose who he wanted to be close to. The pieces would fall where they wished and he would just have to accept it.

Niki's tail wagged behind him, tongue lolling just a bit out of his mouth. It seemed he had finally managed to slightly crack Askan's gruff exterior shell as evident by the amusement, however dry, in the others tone. He knew the older male was not all sullen silences and uncouth words, it had just taken a little prodding to get there. "Y'seem t'already b'doin' a good job at keepin' th'border well marked," he said with a large constant grin on his face. Askan just seemed to be made for the guardian role, and the white yearling knew he would definitely feel safe with him always on watch. Then again, having anyone on watch was good enough for him as long as there was a pair of eyes looking out for danger. Being in the healer profession meant he had to concentrate on what he was doing which meant just having another nearby was protection enough for him, and that way he also had company.

The white yearling gazed at Askan as he offered as much of an invitation as possible without actually saying the words, white ears perking up as he bobbed his head enthusiastically. "Migh'jus' do tha'," he beamed. Maybe not to join the pack if he chose another, but to drop off some herbs from the forest that could not be found in a tundra biome for them to use. Who knows, maybe he could create a partnership with their healer and form an alliance between two packs, but that was only if he did not choose to join Askan's pack. The possibilities were endless. Niki ducked his head, noticing the almost-smile from Askan but pretending he had not, and looked over his shoulder in the direction he had been originally travelling in, one ear flicking backwards to face the older male. "I've taken up t'much o'y'time already mister, bes' b'goin' on m'way," he said apologetically but with a grin nonetheless, turning back to face the other. "It was nice meetin' y'though, Askan." The white yearling dipped his head in a respectful goodbye, and with one last amicable wave of his tail, turned heel and padded ever Southward, eager to find out what was beyond the tundra, or if it even ended.